Tag: gift

Posted in 2022 Lent Devotions

For you

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Mirror of the Passion” for March 7, 2022. Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash

“[Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)

Someone returns from shopping, hands you a bag and says, “I got something for you.” Or they look at the name on the gift under the Christmas tree and say, “This one’s for you.” After paying for a meal, you hand a little extra cash to the server and say, “This is for you.”

There is something about the words “for you” that gets me every time. My heart skips a beat. I blush, just a little. “For me? What is it? Oh, wow, thank you. Hey, look what I got!” Other times I feel guilty. “You didn’t have to get me anything. I didn’t get anything for you.”

We look into this mirror a lot. We hear these words every time we kneel for holy communion.

This is for you – even if you’re a traitor, a coward, a thief, doubtful, or a deserter. (Like the disciples)

This is for you – when you worked hard, did a great job, and feel really good about yourself. (We all have good days.)

This is for you – even if you broke your promise, were caught red-handed, and then lied about it. Again. (We all have days like that, too.)

This is for you – even if you don’t know who you’ve disappointed, ignored, or hurt. (We can be oblivious.)

This is for you – even if you’re feeling disappointed, ignored, and hurt. (We know how it feels.)

This is for you – even though it didn’t make a bit of difference last time.

This is for you – even if it changed everything last time.

The words “for you” bring God’s amazing grace home to us. Grace means no conditions. No strings attached. Expecting nothing in return. Jesus’ body was broken for us. His blood was poured out for us. While we were sinners.

Listen for those words. Let the “for you” of the sacrament shock, surprise, and reassure you each and every time.

Lord, you shouldn’t have. But I am so glad you did it all for me. Amen.

Posted in memories, Stories

We made a friend

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Where are we going?” my son asked.

“We’re going to deliver a gift.”

I saw our neighbor drive off. This was our chance. We looked both ways, hurried across the street, and left the brightly wrapped box on the doorstep. Who knew how much time we had? We hurried back home like nothing ever happened.

We knew we were taking a big risk. No one, absolutely no one dared step into this man’s yard, much less approach his door. If your ball rolled up on his lawn, you just left it there. If you were playing in the street and saw his front door open, you ran home. We didn’t even know his name, but we feared him nonetheless.

“We’re going to deliver a gift.” A Christmas ornament and cookies. Guaranteed to thaw a soul, right? At least we tried.

Every neighborhood has one. The one you fear. The one you avoid. The one you taunt. The one you watch from a distance. Where I grew up it was Old Man Somebody.” We didn’t know his name. We didn’t know anything about him. But we perpetuated the legend of the grouchiest, grumpiest, craziest elderly neighbor you could imagine. We would try to taunt him by shouting, “Hey, old man!” and running away. For some reason, when you are eight years old this is great fun. I never even saw the man, yet I was deathly afraid of him.

We got a thank you note. We got a thank you note from Mr. Critchfield, our across-the-street neighbor. From that moment on he waved when we were coming or going. He smiled when he saw us. We smiled at him.

We made a friend.